Garba and Dandiya Night

The Indian festive season is in full swing and the festival of Navratri invariably brings with it a lot of joy and celebration among various ethnic groups. Navratri is a Nine day festival celebrating the victory of good over evil when families and societies all over the country welcome Goddess Durga to their humble abodes, praying for the well-being of one and all. Today, Navratri as a festival is not restricted to certain parts of the country as it is celebrated by devout Indians all over the world. The traditional dance form of Garba coupled with Dandiya is probably the most spectacular of events during Navratri.

Amidst the grueling and hectic academic schedule, the students of SPIT were treated to a ‘Garba Night’, surrounding the jubilant mood and fervor of the festival, on the night of the 1st of October 2019, a Tuesday like never before. The Cultural Committee of the Student Council was tasked with organizing the event, which was surely a massive hit.

After a normal day of exhausting lectures, as dusk set-in, students from every class assembled in the Sardar Patel Sabhagriha in the S.P.I.T. Quadrangle teeming with anticipation and excitement, draped in breathtaking traditional attire. The main entrance to the college was  decorated with joyous lights that made the otherwise uneventful place the center of attention and almost unrecognizable. At 6 in the evening, the speakers blasted the first tunes for the night, commanding the students to forget everything about their monotonous lives and get lost in the world of joy and festivity.

Amidst this, the DJ was ready with his repertoire of famous Bollywood songs which are essential to Garba Celebrations like “Udi Udi Jaaye” , “Nagada Sang Dhol Baaje” and other remixes of classic songs which made sure that everyone in the audience was on their feet at all times, sometimes even making them chant the familiar phrase : ‘Once More’. Everyone soaked in the moment together, irrespective of their academic patronage. Many of the students present were so called ‘Garba Experts’ while most were ‘newbies’, which gave the event a unique charm.

Everyone seemed to have let go of all their worries and just danced to the pulsating and celebratory beats. Snacks were distributed for those who were left hungry after an exhausting session of dancing. Prizes were arranged for all the students for the best traditional attire as well as the best dancers. In the end it was truly a memorable and joyous night for everyone present. Darsh Mehta and Nikki Wagholikar were declared best dressed, while Chetna Sharma and Parth Shingala won in the latter category.

“I thoroughly enjoyed the event. I got to learn Garba from my friends and dancing with them into the night is something I’ll remember all my life”, said Tejas Naik, a student of SE EXTC.

“Every bit of effort that we put in to pull off this event paid off as we saw the glowing faces of the attendees immersed in celebration.” –

Muskan Sahu, General Secretary.

Article by Kaustubh V

Photography by Hrusheekesh Sawarkar and Gaurav Parulekhar